The inscription reads: Young pines on request by old man Kaiseki 81 years old.

Unlike most of his literati colleagues Kaiseki was well-to-do, so that he could afford the best teachers. At the age of 21 he became close friends with Kuwayama Gyokushû (1746-99), a pupil of Ike Taiga (1723-76), who helped Kaiseki deepen his commitment to the literati style. In 1767 he moved to Kyoto and studied with Taiga for three years and they became good friends. In 1793 he moved back to Wakayama, to serve the daimyô as the supervisor of sake brewing, later to be extended to the supervision of the production of copper, sugar cane and timber. During his travels he met a lot of famous literati throughout the country. He befriended Rai Sanyô (1780-1832) and Nukina Kaioku (1778-1863) amongst others.

Kishu, Arita-gun, Wakayama Prefecture, Kii Province. Kishu ware is a general term for Japanese traditional pottery manufactured in the Kishu Domain during the Edo period. Since the early Edo period, Kishu ware had been produced by a number of pottery ateliers. However, after the abolition of the Kishu Domain, all the pottery ateliers of Kishu ware were closed. In 1878 the last pottery atelier Nanki Otokoyama-yaki was closed down